Breeding Maine Coons: 11 Expert Tips Saving You Thousands!

Maine Coons are one of the most cherished and majestic cat breeds worldwide. Their gentle personalities, large frames, and wild beauty make them a popular choice for cat lovers, and increasingly, for those interested in breeding.
However, breeding Maine Coons isn’t as simple as waiting for the first heat or finding a stud. Instead, there are many things new breeders need to be aware of before breeding these amazing felines.
This guide offers essential advice that every new or aspiring Maine Coon breeder should know before beginning their journey.
1. Minimum Breeding Age
✔️ Females:
Maine Coon queens should not be bred before they are at least 18 months old.
While they may go into their first heat between 5 and 10 months, that doesn’t mean they are physically or mentally ready to carry a litter.
Breeding too early risks:
- Stunting the cat’s development
- Increasing the chances of birth complications
- Producing poor maternal behaviour
- Weakening the cat’s immune system
Ideally, breeders should wait until the female:
- Is 18 to 24 months old
- Has had 2 or 3 full, regular heat cycles
- Has reached near her full adult weight (12–15 lbs)
- Has passed all essential health screenings
✔️ Males:
Male Maine Coons can become fertile as early as 6-9 months, but they should not be used as a stud until at least 18 months of age.
Waiting until the male is fully mature allows for:
- Better sperm quality
- Lower risk of genetic or behavioural issues being passed on
- A more emotionally stable temperament for mating
⚠️ Maine Coons are a slow-maturing breed, typically not reaching full physical maturity until 3-5 years. Patience is essential for producing healthy, robust kittens.
2. Why Breeding Too Early Is Harmful
New breeders may feel pressure to breed early due to demand, financial investment, or inexperience, but doing so can endanger your cat and future litters.
Breeding too young can cause:
- Pelvic immaturity in females increases the risk of dystocia (difficulty during birth)
- Interrupted growth, as her body diverts nutrients to the growing kittens
- Poor milk production and neglect of kittens due to emotional immaturity
- Stress-induced behavioural problems like aggression or hiding
- Shortened breeding career due to reproductive system strain
Even if a female seems physically ready, internal development, mental maturity, and breeding suitability take longer to form.
3. Essential Health Testing Before Breeding
Responsible breeders must perform specific genetic and health screenings before mating their Maine Coons. This protects both the breeding pair and their future kittens from inherited or infectious diseases.
Health tests required for both males and females:
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) – Most common heart disease in Maine Coons; require either DNA test or echocardiogram.
- Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKDef) – A genetic disorder causing anemia.
- Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) – Can be screened through ultrasound or DNA.
- Hip Dysplasia – Maine Coons are prone to joint issues; X-rays evaluated by a vet are essential.
- Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) & Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) – Infectious, often fatal viruses. Must be tested negative before mating.
- Worm and Parasite Screening – Ensure cats are dewormed and fecal tests are clear.
- Full vaccination records – Up to date on core vaccines like FVRCP and rabies.
Without these screenings, you risk producing kittens with expensive, painful, and sometimes fatal conditions.
4. Understanding Female Heat Cycles
New breeders must learn to identify and manage the female’s reproductive cycles.
- Maine Coon females typically have their first heat between 5-10 months
- Heat signs include:
- Vocalisation
- Restlessness
- Tail flagging
- Rubbing and affectionate behaviour
- Unlike dogs, cats are seasonally polyestrous, meaning they can go into heat multiple times during breeding seasons (typically spring and summer)
Wait until the queen has had a few normal, predictable cycles before considering breeding. This indicates her hormones are balanced, and her reproductive system is functioning properly.
5. Preparing To Become A Responsible Breeder
Many new breeders underestimate the time, knowledge, and resources needed to breed ethically.
Before You Start:
- Mentor with an experienced breeder: Nothing substitutes real-world experience. A mentor can help you through your first mating, pregnancy, birth, and kitten rearing.
- Register your cattery: Use a recognized registry like TICA, CFA, or GCCF. This also helps ensure proper pedigrees.
- Understand your cats’ pedigrees: Avoid inbreeding by ensuring mating pairs have low coefficient of inbreeding (COI) scores, ideally below 10%.
- Budget accordingly: Expect to spend thousands on vet checks, genetic testing, emergency care, food, equipment, and kitten vaccinations.
- Prepare your home: Breeding cats need quiet, separate spaces for mating and birthing. Queens must feel secure or risk abandoning the litter.
6. What New Breeders Must Know
Once ready to breed:
- Only introduce cats during the queen’s peak heat window (typically days 3-5 of her cycle)
- Mating may be noisy, quick, and repeated multiple times
- After successful mating, the queen may return to normal behaviour within 24-48 hours
During pregnancy:
- Pregnancy lasts approximately 63-68 days
- Monitor her weight gain and food intake weekly
- Transition to high-protein kitten food by the third week of pregnancy
- Avoid stress and other cats during this time
Whelping (giving birth):
- Prepare a clean, quiet whelping box
- Monitor the queen closely around her due date
- Be prepared to assist or contact a vet if:
- Labor lasts more than 24 hours
- A kitten is stuck for over 30 minutes
- The queen appears distressed or is bleeding excessively
7. Kitten Care And Ethical Selling
Breeding is only the start. Raising and rehoming kittens ethically is where good breeders stand out.
Kittens must:
- Stay with the mother for at least 12–14 weeks
- Be fully weaned and eating solid food
- Receive their first vaccinations, deworming, and vet checks
- Be socialised daily: Introduced to household noises, handled regularly, exposed to toys and litter boxes
When rehoming:
- Vet all potential buyers
- Provide a contract that includes:
- Health guarantees
- Spay/neuter requirements for pet quality
- Return policy in case the kitten cannot be kept
- Never allow kittens to go home early for profit
Many experienced breeders stay in touch with kitten buyers and offer support for life.
8. When Should You Retire A Breeding Cat?
Maine Coon queens are typically retired around 5-6 years old, depending on health and the number of litters they’ve had.
- A responsible breeding schedule is no more than one litter per year, or 3-4 litters total
- Retired cats should be spayed and transitioned into a relaxed pet lifestyle
- Some breeders keep retired queens or place them in carefully vetted homes
9. You’ll Need A Licence
Whether a Maine Coon breeder needs a license depends on the country and the number of litters or breeding cats involved.
Here’s a breakdown for the UK and USA, the two most common locations Maine Coon breeders operate from:
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Most UK breeders are required to hold a license under current animal welfare legislation.
You must be licensed by your local council if:
- You breed 3 or more litters per year, whether the kittens are sold or not, or
- You advertise kittens for sale, even if you only breed 1 or 2 litters per year, and it appears you’re doing so with a commercial intent (e.g., regularly selling or promoting your kittens online).
This license is called an Animal Activities License (AAL).
Failure to obtain a license can result in prosecution, fines, and a ban from breeding animals.
🇺🇸 United States
In the U.S., licensing requirements vary by state and depending on the scale of breeding.
You may need a USDA license if:
- You breed more than 4 female cats and sell kittens sight-unseen (e.g., shipping without the buyer meeting the kitten first).
You may need a state-level breeder license if:
- Your state requires licensing for pet breeders (e.g., in California, Texas, New York, and others).
- Some counties/cities have their own regulations even if the state doesn’t.
Hobby breeders
Many states exempt small-scale/hobby breeders (usually under a certain number of litters per year) from needing a license. However, these breeders must still comply with basic animal welfare laws.
10. Breeding Is Expensive
If you’re thinking about breeding Maine Coons to make quick money, think again. Ethical breeding comes with serious costs:
- Health screening
- Vet bills
- Premium food
- Kitten vaccinations
- Emergency care
- Registration fees
- Proper housing
Unexpected complications can wipe out any profits. Without deep pockets, time, and a commitment to the breed’s welfare, breeding Maine Coons can become financially and emotionally overwhelming.
11. It’s Extremely Time-Consuming
Breeding Maine Coons isn’t a side hobby, it’s a full-time responsibility!
Caring for pregnant queens, monitoring births (often at night), hand-feeding weak kittens, cleaning constantly, socializing litters, managing paperwork, and vet visits all demand your time and energy every single day.
If you have a busy lifestyle or limited availability, breeding Maine Coons will quickly become unmanageable. Be prepared to sacrifice weekends, holidays, and sleep.